Sulky

ABSTRACT

A sulky comprises two wheels (7) which are attached via frame members (3) to the sulky&#39;s support structure, which consists of a beam section (1) which connects the wheels (7), a seat section (2) and shafts (4). In order to give the horse which is harnessed between the shafts (4) an impulse by means of swinging movements from the driver who is sitting on the seat (2), the shafts (4) are designed with an arm member (6) which is facing the wheel (7). This arm member (6) is rotatably connected to the frame member (3). From the shaft (4) to the beam section (1) there is maintained a connection (9) for transfer of tensile force.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The invention relates to sulkies.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Sulkies are very light carriages which are used in trotting races, wherethe driver sits on a very light-weight two-wheeled carriage. The drivertherefore sits with his centre of gravity over and slightly behind thewheel mounting, with the result that when he swings or stretches hislegs, this causes a kind of up and down rocking movement, thusinfluencing the horse. Impulses of this kind are intended to give thehorse added inspiration, thus contributing to the attainment of maximumspeed.

From DE-A-3 313 694 (corresponding to SE-B-449 202) it is known a sulkyconstruction with shafts which are provided with arm members extendingdownwardly from each shaft. The shaft itself extends to the beam sectionof the sulky, so that the main function of the arm members extendingdownwardly in direction to the wheels is to be supporting elements.After having made all adjustments necessary for using the sulky the armmembers will maily act as a stiff connection. In the known embodiment itis in the lower part no pivotal connection to the rear part of theshaft. By the construction according to the German publication it is anobject with simple means being able to displace the wheels in the lengthdirection of the sulky. The sulky has therefore been provided with awheel mounting which makes it possible to displace the position of thewheels in the length direction of the sulky in order to control andchange the vertical load on the wheels according to the hardness of theroad, without having to change wheels. In order to reduce the rolling,friction on the soft tracks the wheels should be positioned morebackwardly in relation to the driving direction. Such a change of thepositioning of the wheels will have influence on the forces exerted onthe horse in the direction vertical to the direction of movement, it is,however, not achieved any forces on the horse in the moving direction,i.e. no horisontal forces are established.

Even though a swinging movement of this kind will influence the horse,it will only exert an up and down momentum on the horse and due to therigid design of the sulky this will also cause relatively hard joltingmovements.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The invention concerns an improvement for a sulky having two shafts anda frame member comprising two lateral arms linked by a centralhorizontal beam section, said beam section supporting a seat section andhaving a mechanical connection to said shafts each of said lateral armssupporting towards its distal end a wheel by means of a wheel mounting,whereby a rear arm member extends downwardly from each shaft at an angelthereto, faces the respective wheel and is pivotally attached at itsother end to a fulcrum point on the receptive lateral arm at a distancefrom the wheel mounting.

An object of the present invention is to provide a sulky which permits amore favourable influence to be exerted on the horse via the shaft,based on the movements of the driver on his seat. Thus it is an objectof the invention to provide a device which enables the horse to be notonly influenced by forces in the upward and downward direction, i.e.vertically directed forces, but also by a force which acts in theforward direction in the horse's direction of travel, i.e. a horizontalforce component.

A further object of the invention is to provide an improvement whichmakes this movement as comfortable as possible, thus achieving a kind ofshock absorption, while at the same time the influence on the horse ismaintained. Thus it is also desirable to provide a sulky which permitsat least a reduction in the shaking when driving on an uneven course.

These objects are achieved with a sulky of the type mentioned in theintroduction, which is characterized in that the rear arm member forms arigid continuation of the respective shaft, the fulcrum point ispreferably lower than the wheel mounting, and the mechanical connectionbetween said beam section and said shafts is an elastic connection fortransmitting only tensile force from the shafts to the beam section.

Further advantageous features of the invention are indicated in thesub-claim.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING

FIG. 1 is a side view of a sulky showing the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

When it is specified that the shaft is designed with an arm, this meansthat the shaft is bent with an arm member at an angle to the mainlongitudinal direction. This arm normally forms a part of the actualshaft, even though it will, of course, be possible to find other designforms.

By having the shafts led down to the wheel area and rotatably connectedthere with the sulky's frame member, while at the same time creating aconnection for transfer of tensile force instead of a rigid connectionfrom the shaft to the beam section, the object has been achieved thatthe transfer of force when the driver swings on his seat will provide astronger force component in the shaft's longitudinal direction, thusinfluencing the horse in its direction of travel. This influence will beparticularly marked if the joining point between the arm of the shaftand the frame member is located at a distance under the wheel mounting,i.e. as far from the driver's seat as practically possible. Theconnection between the shaft and the upper part of the frame memberwhere the driver's seat is located, i.e. the straight extension of theshaft is designed as a connection for transfer of tensile force whichcan be composed of an elastically springing or dampening element, e.g. aspring placed in a telescopic cylinder. Other dampening or springingelements can, of course, also be used here and in principle it would besufficient to use a thick, elastic rubber band.

This elastically springing connection will provide springing for thewhole carriage and will result in a marked cushioning of the shakingexperienced on an uneven course, while at the same time dampening downthe hard effects of jolting on the horse. Due to the force which isexerted in the shaft's longitudinal direction, the length of the horse'sstep will automatically be increased by a few millimeters, which willresult in greater speed.

The invention will now be described in more detail by means of anembodiment which is depicted in the drawing, which illustrates in apurely schematic side view the principle of the design of the invention.

A sulky is constructed in the traditional manner of a support structurein the form of a beam section which connects the sulky's two wheels andwhich also on a conventional sulky is connected to the shafts 4. On thebeam section 1 the seat section 2 is also located as is indicatedschematically in the figure and in this area there is also attached theframe member 3 which forms the mounting and the connection to the wheelsuspension. The frame member 3 can, e.g., be as designed at each wheelas a fork which constitutes the mounting for the wheel axis 5.

According to the invention the shaft 4 is designed with an arm member 6which is angled down towards the frame member 5, on one side of thewheel 7 and is attached by a pivot joint, e.g. a swivel pin 8 to theframe member 3. In the illustrated embodiment, the fulcrum 8 is locatedin the extension of the frame member 3 beyond the wheel axis 5, i.e. atthe end of the frame member 3 which faces away from the seat 2.

In the straight extension of the shaft's 4 main direction, and attachedto the top of the frame member 3 or the beam section 1 there is locateda connection for transfer of tensile force which is generally indicatedby 9. This connection is preferably designed as an elastically springingor dampening device, e.g. a spring element 10 which is located in atelescopic casing 11, which is connected with a rotatable coupling 12to, e.g. the beam section 1.

If the driver rocks in his seat, e.g. by stretching his legs, the seatand the frame member are tilted as indicated by an arrow at the seat 2.The frame member 3 will thereby be moved downwards about the wheel axis5, as is exaggeratedly indicated as an arc a. By means of theillustrated location of the connection point 8 on the arm member 6, theconnection point will be moved forward in an arc b, thereby moving theshaft 4 a distance forward corresponding approximately to the arc b. Theforces thereby created are illustrated in a triangular arrow diagram Kand shows that a force component will be created there in thelongitudinal direction of the shaft. This force component will give thehorse an impulse forward and the length of the horse's step will thusincrease by a few millimeters, thus achieving greater speed.

With the illustrated spring design which creates a connectiontransferring tensile force between the sulky's beam section/seat andshaft, there is provided an independent springing which will cushion theshaking experienced on an uneven course, while at the same timeabsorbing shocks in the connection between the seat and the shaft. In apractical design, the fulcrum 8 is placed approximately 120 mm below thewheel mounting 5. Without swinging the spring device will pull the shaftand the wheel fork, i.e. the frame member together.

Many modifications will be possible within the scope of the invention.Thus many different springing and dampening devices can be used insteadof the illustrated spring, hydraulic devices can be used and a simple"rubber band" can be employed. The location of the fulcrum 8 in relationto the wheel axis 5 can also be varied depending on the desired effectwhich is to be achieved. In principle the fulcrum 8 can also coincidewith the axis 5 or be located above it, but this will lead to a reversedpattern of movement, with the result that the impulse forwards willoccur when the driver rises and not when he pushes down.

I claim:
 1. A sulky having two shafts (4) and a frame member (3)comprising two lateral arms linked by a central horizontal beam section(1), said beam section supporting a seat section (2) and having amechanical connection (9) to said shafts (4), each of said lateral arms(3) depend downwardly and supporting a wheel (7) mounted on a lowerportion of said lateral arms by means of a wheel mounting (5), whereby arear arm member (6) extends downwardly from each shaft (4) at an anglethereto, faces the respective wheel (7) and is pivotally attachedproximate a lower end thereof at a fulcrum point (8) on the respectivelateral arm (3) at a distance from the wheel mounting (5), characterizedin that the rear arm member (6) forms a rigid continuation of therespective shaft (4); the fulcrum point is lower than the wheel mounting(5); and the mechanical connection (9) between said beam section (1) andsaid shafts (4) is an elastic connection for transmitting only tensileforce from the shafts (4) to the beam section (1).
 2. A sulky accordingto claim 1, characterized in that said elastic connection is a biasingresilient element.
 3. A sulky according to claim 2, wherein said biasingresilient element is contained in a rigid casing extending from saidbeam section to said shafts.
 4. A sulky according to claim 3 whereinsaid biasing resilient element is selected from the group consistingof;(i) a spring; (ii) an elastomeric band and; (iii) a hydraulic system.5. A sulky having two shafts, and a frame having a seat section andhaving lateral arms extending from said frame downwardly and supportinga wheel mounted on a lower portion of said lateral arms by means of awheel mounting further comprising;a rear arm member extending downwardlyfrom each shaft at an angle thereto and pivotally attached proximate alower end thereof at a point on the respective lateral arm said pointbeing below said wheel mounting; and an extensible resilient memberextending between said frame and each of said shafts respectively.
 6. Asulky, according to claim 5, wherein said point where said rear armmember is pivotally attached proximate a lower end thereof to a point onthe respective lateral arm is approximately 120 mm below said wheelmounting.
 7. A sulky, according to claim 5, further comprising a meansmounted between said rear arm member or said shaft and said frame forestablishing a minimum distance therebetween and said extensibleresilient member permits movement therebetween from said minimumdistance to longer distances.
 8. A sulky, according to claim 7, whereinsaid means is a casing and said extensible resilience member iscontained in said casing.
 9. A sulky having two shafts, and a framehaving a seat section and having a lateral arm corresponding to eachshaft extending from said frame downwardly and supporting a wheelmounted on a lower portion of said lateral arms by means of a wheelmounting further comprising;a rear arm member extending downwardly fromeach shaft at an angle thereto and pivotally attached proximate a lowerend thereof at a point on the respective lateral arm; and an assemblycomprising an extensible resilient member and a limiting means extendingsubstantially horizontally coaxially from each of said shafts to saidcorresponding lateral arm to define a triangle formed by said assembly,rear arm and lateral arm said limiting means establishing a minimumdistance upon pivoting of said rear arm member toward said lateral arm.